Work vehicles, such as construction or agricultural vehicles typically have small enclosed operator stations. These operator stations are small, enclosed cabins, typically with seating for only a single person who is the operator of the work vehicle, although some enclosed operator stations may provide a small, stowable sitting platform or “jump seat” to temporarily accommodate a second person within the cabin for short periods of time.
Unlike the driver seat of an automobile or over-the-road truck, the operator seat is centrally located (side-to-side) within the operator station. This is beneficial since the operator station is intended (one) to accommodate a single operator and (two) to provide significant operator visibility to the work vehicle and to the surrounding environment upon which the work vehicle works.
Unlike automobiles and over-the-road trucks, the operator station has significantly greater visibility of the vehicle and the surrounding environment typically by providing glass walls. In one common arrangement, the operator station includes a glass front wall, left side wall, and right side wall that extend substantially from the floor of the operator station to the roof of the operator station.
A significant problem with operator stations is maintaining a comfortable working environment for the operator. Due to the small internal volume of operator compartments, the air must be regularly recirculated and supplemented with fresh outside air to keep the operator comfortable. Work vehicles, however, are typically operated in dirty environments with significant dust, dirt, and particles of plant matter contaminating the outside air. As a result, not only must the air be recirculated at a relatively high rate, but it must also be filtered very well to keep clean the operator, his clothing, his lungs, and the various controls.
Further, and due to the great deal of glass that defines the walls of the operator station, the interior of the operator compartment can become extremely hot or extremely cold due to solar radiation received through the large glass walls and lost through those same walls due to outward radiation and thermal conduction.
As a result, operator stations of work vehicles are typically provided with high-capacity air filtration and air-conditioning modules—both for heating and cooling. These air-conditioning modules are typically mounted on the interior of the operator station roof, with holes provided to the roof to permit the easy flow of air. Due to the limited size of the operator compartments, however, these air-conditioning modules typically reduce the operator's headroom. Further, conduits for distributing air within the operator compartment typically extend downward from the air-conditioning modules, thus further invading the operator's headroom and workspace.
What is needed, therefore, is an operator station with a new air-conditioning arrangement. It is an object of this invention to provide such an operator station.